The present invention relates to firefighter garments and, more particularly, firefighter garments having orthopedic components for reducing the strain of a wearer when encountering heavy loads.
A typical firefighter garment includes a pant and jacket, each having an outer shell of a fire-resistant material such as an aramid fiber (NOMEX and KEVLAR brand aramid fibers, both products of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Inc.) and an inner liner having a moisture barrier component and a thermal barrier component. The moisture barrier may be FORTEX material (a trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.) and the thermal barrier may be a felt of aramid fibers. The inner liner components typically are quilted together, and the inner liner is separable from the outer shell to facilitate laundering of the garment.
The firefighter pant typically is beltless and is held in position by suspenders which fit under the jacket. The inner pant liner and outer pant shell snap or button together and the suspender ends or tabs may attach to such buttons or snaps, or may be attached by separate means. Both the jacket and the pant are loose fitting and somewhat baggy to allow freedom of movement.
While such firefighter garments provide adequate protection against such hazards as heat, water and flash flame, they provide no protection for the hazard of muscle strain, especially in the lumbar region of the spine of the wearer. In the fighting of fire, the firefighter is called upon to carry heavy equipment, such as hoses and ladders, over his shoulder, and occasionally is required to carry an injured person over his shoulder in the well-known "firemen's carry" maneuver. In addition, the firefighter often carries a tank of breathing air strapped to his back. All of these items and activities impose a stress upon the lumbar region of the back which is often an unbalanced imposition of a weight load.
While there are many types of designs for so-called lumbar stabilizers, such as the stabilizer disclosed in Porterfield, et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,916 and Miller U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,573, such devices are designed to provide comfort and reduce stress to an individual who has sustained an injury in the lumbar area of the spine. It is not an object of such devices to provide a prophylactic benefit to a wearer in the hazardous environment of a firefighter. Further, such devices are designed to be worn independently of any other type of garment and typically are worn underneath the outer garments of a wearer.
It is impractical to require firefighters to keep track of and separately put on such lumbar stabilizers, in addition to all of the other firefighter garments and gear, in the rush to answer an alarm. Accordingly, there is a need for a firefighter garment which provides support for a firefighter in the lumbar region of the wearer's spine in order to minimize the risk of injury to that region sustained during strenuous firefighting activity.